Event partnership through sponsorship and exhibition is one of the most effective ways to generate revenue and increase ROI. However, sponsors often prefer the live event experience which provides the opportunity to meet with attendees in person. One of the issues with virtual or hybrid events from the sponsors’ angle is that many such events offer limited interaction and engagement with the audience.
With future events tending towards virtual and hybrid, it is only the event organizers that can provide the kind of value that resonates with sponsors that will effectively attract them as event partners.
Below are ideas you can explore to create value and attract sponsors and exhibitors when planning your virtual or hybrid event.
Let’s dive in.
Audiovisuals (AV) are a big deal when it comes to creating immersive virtual or hybrid event experiences. Both in-person and online audiences rely on audio and video quality to make sense of an event experience.
According to data released by Markletic early this year, 61% of B2B marketers used video as an interactive element to keep attendees engaged while 70% affirmed that good audio production is critical to successful virtual event production. Your event needs a full-service audio and video streaming crew that will help deliver the perfect "mix-minus" audio and provide top-quality video streaming experience both in the ballroom, breakout rooms, and the online platform as well.
Why is AV important to sponsors and exhibitors? By providing top-quality and uninterrupted audio and video streaming, attendees are immersed in the event experience, and audience engagement increases. By implication, attendees are more likely to participate in other event activities like visiting exhibitor booths and talking to sponsors.
Beyond streaming qualities, you need a virtual or hybrid event platform that has other important features that will help drive engagement and provide value for sponsors and exhibitors. Some of these features are highlighted below:
User Profiles and Directories:- Apart from name and location, use a platform that can capture and display more attendee data such as headshots, organization, job title, interests, and link to their social media profile (especially LinkedIn).
Also, there should be a directory where sponsors can have a grid view of attendees and probably be able to initiate a conversation by going through profiles. There can also be a sponsors’ directory where attendees can view and contact sponsors and exhibitors directly as well.
Meeting Scheduling: 1:1 video calls should be enabled so that sponsors can schedule a call with prospects on the platform. This could also be the same feature that will power the virtual booths.
Virtual Booths
Each sponsor and exhibitor can have a virtual stand where attendees can meet with them during your event. The virtual rooms can be limited to 1:1 video chats or group video chats. There should also be time within the event agenda for virtual booth sessions where attendees can join a sponsor or exhibitor booth.
In addition to the above, the platform’s interface and lobby should be intuitive and provide a great user experience so attendees and sponsors can easily find the event agenda and sessions.
Virtual and hybrid events provide interesting ways to create value that will attract sponsors and exhibitors, and help them with lead generation and sales.
This can starts with featuring them on your event landing page during event promotion, inclusion in event email communication, social media mentions, pre-recorded event videos, and interviews, sponsored thought leadership, sponsored breakout sessions, inclusion in presentation slides, platform exposure with banner and HTML ads, push messages via mobile event app, and many more.
You can create different tiers of sponsorship plans with price tags and arrange these offers for sponsors to choose from.
Data is premium for sponsors and exhibitors and the ability to share rich data insights can help you attract and retain them. These data include the personal data of attendees, and event user-generated data gathered through pre-event and post-event surveys, polls, Q&A, and other interactions on the platform.
The data usually provide more insights into the interests of attendees and that can help sponsors to plan follow-up actions and maximize ROI. However, disclosure of attendee data use intent must be made and attendees should be given the option to accept or decline to be part of the use before the event.
Hiring a full-service company can make things easier for your virtual/hybrid event planning, preparation, and execution. At Performedia, we have the technology and seasoned teams and crews to take care of all your event’s onsite and online experience. Schedule a call with us today to get things started!
